Posted by JonAs well as being a Fellow of APMP, I’m a long-standing member of the esteemed Institute of Directors, which bases itself out of prestigious premises in London’s Pall Mall. Their main building has always had something of a formal atmosphere, but change is in the air. An email arrived just the other day, entitled “Dress Code Change – Pilot for July, August and September 2013″. Here’s what it said:

Dear Mr Williams

As you are a valued member of Institute of Directors, I wanted to personally email you to let you know about some upcoming changes to the rules regarding the IoD’s dress code at Pall Mall.

The Board has endorsed a decision to pilot a more relaxed dress code at our Pall Mall premises, including the Restaurant, for the months of July, August and September. By introducing this pilot we would like to be more open and inclusive and also more in tune with modern working practices.

We do value member feedback and will be noting all comments received during this period and a full report will be given to the Board in September which will subsequently be published on our website. Please send any comments you have via email or you can speak with our Reception team when you next visit our Premises.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of the IoD and look forward to welcoming you back to Pall Mall very soon.​Yours sincerely…

Anyone notice what’s missing? That’s right: there’s no mention whatsoever of what the new dress code actually is. I’m thinking of turning up in shorts, a bermuda shirt and flip-flops: I wonder if they’ll let me in?It’s like that with too much proposal content. The author knows everything about the topic concerned; in their rush to document it (often in over-formal language), they can sometimes lose sight of what it is they need to get across to the reader.

“IoD premises are a place for business, and members and their guests are expected to dress accordingly. Some Regional premises require a jacket and tie for gentlemen and smart attire for ladies throughout (please see http://www.iod.com/premises for more information). The IoD reserves the right to exclude members and their guests if inappropriately dressed.”

To confuse things even further, a later paragraph states:

“As with 123 Pall Mall, there will be no restrictions on the dress code throughout the whole of 116 Pall Mall, allowing members to make the decision on what they would normally wear to do business, as long as it is not deemed indecent. Members will be permitted to wear jeans, T-shirts, shorts and all variants of footwear.”

Perhaps this makes more sense to you as a member, but after reading this, I have no idea whether I can wear a bermuda shirt and flip-flops (I think that shorts are still prohibited), or if I have to wear a jacket and a tie.

Unfortunately, the Institute’s text includes words such as “indecent,” which make the dress code about as clear as the United States Supreme Court’s definition of pornography. To one person, Manchester United attire may be perfectly acceptable, while to another it may be indecent. (I don’t know if you have a UK equivalent of the Oakland Raiders, whose attire is considered questionable anywhere outside of Oakland.)

I look forward to follow-up stories of the fashion mistakes that you witness (or commit) at the Institute.